BY UGWUOKE FELIX, PR UNIT

The Public Relations Unit of University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital Ituku/Ozalla, Enugu has embarked on sensitizing members of staff on the use of UNTH E-Wallet.
Speaking recently at the Seminar Hall of Physiotherapy Department, the Chief Public Relations officer/ Acting Head of Public Relations Unit Mr. Boniface Uchelue said that “the brain behind the introduction of UNTH E-Wallet was in line with cashless policy of the country”.

According to him, “Apart from being in line with cashless policy of the country, the idea is to reduce stress and risk inherent in carrying physical cash from one pay point to another in UNTH”.
Addressing Physiotherapists and other non-clinical staff, Mr. Uchelue told the audience that UNTH E-Wallet was just like Automated Teller Machine (ATM) card which patients can use to pay for hospital services.
Speaking further, Mr. Uchelue opined that the wallet is designed to be used only in UNTH for payment of services rendered by the hospital. The only difference between ATM and the wallet is that while the former deals with physical cash, the latter cannot be used outside of UNTH”.

On how to get the wallet, Mr. Uchelue said that it can be obtained at revenue point with a token fee of two thousand naira (N2000) only. “The Card is renewable after two years. Once you pay for the wallet, a secret code will be generated by you and known to you”.
The code will be linked to your PT number and funds can be transferred from your bank account to the wallet.
One of the advantages of the E-wallet is that it makes refunds where there is overpayment easier.
Answering questions on whether a person can use it to assist patients to settle hospital bills, Mr. Uchelue said that it is possible if the person paying has E-wallet number of the person he or she is paying for. He posited that “With the UNTH wallet, one can receive money from any part of the world once the person knows your wallet account number”.
Entertaining question bothering on the fate of a patient that paid with the wallet but could not assess services due to either a faulty machine, non-availability of the caregiver, or power failure, Uchelue explained that this wallet as a new innovation in UNTH must have some challenges but currently, Management is rectifying some issues emanating from the use of the wallet.

Reacting after the sensitization talk, the Head of Physiotherapy Department, Dr. Mrs. Chinwe Obiekwe thanked the Head of Public Relations Unit Mr. Uchelue, and his team for coming to educate them on the use of UNTH wallet. She went further to appeal to Management to ensure that logistics are put in place to achieve the purpose for which this wallet was designed.

The sensitization campaign was graced by the physical presence of Head of Department Dr. Mrs. Obiekwe, Assistant Director Chris Onugha, and other clinical and non-clinical staff drawn from within Physiotherapy Department.